“I don’t play to be a good basketball player. “I’m playing to be one of the best in history.” The declaration of intent corresponds to one of the stars of the NBA and this World Cup. Shooting guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads Canada after a stellar season as game manager for the Oklahoma Thunder. Neither in his team nor in the selection, there is no doubt about the notoriety of this young man of 25 years old and measuring 1.98 m, physical prodigy (inherited from his mother, Olympian in Barcelona 92 ​​for Antigua and Barbuda in 400m) and incessant shooting. SGA, as it is known by its acronym, is the leader…

“I don’t play to be a good basketball player. “I’m playing to be one of the best in history.” The declaration of intent corresponds to one of the stars of the NBA and this World Cup. Shooting guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads Canada after a stellar season as game manager for the Oklahoma Thunder. Neither in his team nor in the selection, there is no doubt about the notoriety of this young man of 25 years old and measuring 1.98 m, physical prodigy (inherited from his mother, Olympian in Barcelona 92 ​​for Antigua and Barbuda in 400m) and incessant shooting. SGA, as it is known by its acronym, leads the North American team in average points (22.3; sixth highest scorer in the league), rebounds (7.8) and assists (4 ,3). A three-one that speaks for itself of Shai Gilgeous’ omnipresence on the pitch and his ability to do everything. He passes like a point guard, shoots like a small forward and rebounds like a center. This Sunday (3:30 p.m., La1), Spain will face a difficult to contain whirlwind on the way to the quarter-finals.

The same FIBA ​​places the Toronto-born player in second place in its World Cup MVP ranking, trailing only Slovenian Luka Doncic, and ahead of American Anthony Edwards. His coach, Jordi Fernández, surrenders to the commitment of his best player. “He is a superstar and at the same time a very coachable person, who comes, works and is very professional not only in terms of playing but also in taking care of his body and preparing completely. And he is a good leader . He is the example to follow for many players, especially the younger ones. As the best in the team, he is a priority for the others. Everyone thinks about points, but against France, he led the rebounding team [13], with six assists and only one turnover. Its very important. This means that he is not only a player who impacts the game by scoring points, but also by defending and improving his teammates,” explains the Catalan coach.

The ball goes to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Canada’s undisputed flagship after the last minute defeat of striker Jamal Murray, who gave up on the World Cup after a long NBA season crowned by the ring with the Denver Nuggets. In the American League, the figure of SGA also shone this season, for the first time with a place in the All Star, as a West reserve. He was picked in 2018 by the Hornets, traded to the Clippers and a year later to Oklahoma. He had the best score of his career this season, with 31.4 points per night which made him the franchise’s top scorer, in addition to adding 4.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists to the basket.

He is also life insurance in free throws, with a success rate of 90.5% in the American competition, and the player who made the most one-point shots in the entire NBA during the campaign, 669, ahead of Embiid , Trae Young, Tatum. and Doncic. SGA is a throwing machine. No one in the league shot more two-pointers than him last year, with 1,213 chances, and only Embiid and Antetokounmpo celebrated more. Reference numbers that are transferred to the current account with a contract of 148 million dollars for four courses.

Young Shai grew up watching José Manuel Calderón play with the Toronto Raptors from the stands. Today he is the brain of Canada, an intelligent reader of spaces and a producer of baskets. The points escape you. In February, he scored 42 against the Rockets, and he opened this World Cup with a 27, 13-rebound performance that topped France. SGA is precisely the player Spain is missing, a superstar who moves the team but who is capable of deciding a match.

Ranking of the groups of the second phase.

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